Brook will trouble Golovkin, warns Sanchez

Abel Sanchez has admitted he is expecting Kell Brook to cause Gennady Golovkin problems when the duo clash in London on September 10.

IBF welterweight champion Brook is stepping up to middleweight to challenge for Golovkin’s IBF, WBA and WBC titles.

Brook will head into the fight as huge underdog against the man who is billed by many as the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world.

But Sanchez, who has trained Golovkin (35-0-KO32) since 2009, believes it will be a much tougher fight than the proposed bout against Chris Eubank Jr.

“I think that Kell sees an opportunity,” he said. “I think Kell is a lot more difficult opponent than what Eubank is because of his experience.

“Yes, he is smaller but that could become a problem for Golovkin, just like Khan became a problem for Canelo for the first five rounds, the speed, the footwork, the combinations.

“I know the old man [Brook’s trainer Brendan] Ingle is a sly fox; he’s going to propose a plan that takes advantage over those attributes that Kell Brook has versus Golovkin.

“Our end of it is we have to be able to pin him down and we have to be able to cut off the ring like he does and we have to touch him to get him tired, so we have a chance, if we don’t catch him with a good shot early, in the second part of the fight.

“We’re also fighting in England. We’re gonna have 20,000 people cheering for Kell, influencing the judges.”

While Brook has won all 36 of his professional fights – 25 of which by knockout – the Brit is in a similar scenario to domestic rival Amir Khan, who moved up the divisions to fight Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, only to be knocked out in the sixth round.

Khan, however, was arguably up on points until that moment thanks to his speed and movement, and Sanchez suggests Brook has the power which Khan lacked to compete at middleweight.

“I think he’s a big guy; he’s almost as big as Golovkin in height and putting another 13 pounds on him, I have to be prepared for a very good Kell Brook because I know he’s got good people behind him and I know he’s a good fighter and he’s an undefeated champion,” he added.

“I’m looking at a fight I had better make sure my guy is prepared for because we’re not fighting Chris Eubank. Chris Eubank, to me, is a guy who’s already tasted defeat and his arrogance, he thinks he can do certain things that aren’t available to do against a Golovkin.

“I know Kell and his brain trust are going to come in, all cylinders burning, their minds are going to be on the job and they’re going to be prepared for what they think is going to be a difficult fight. ‘English’ (Chris Eubank Sr.) and Chris (Eubank Jr.) would have been different.”